CCP exhibition on photo-booths

The exhibition staged by the Centre for Contemporary Photography (Melbourne) at the RMIT Gallery was a pleasure to visit and it was great to see so many people there on a quiet Saturday afternoon.

While some were exploring the story of the photo-booth man and the artists who had worked with photo-booth photography, many others were patiently queued to experience the photo-booth and to take home their vintage  B&W style selfie. A bit surprising in this age of instant digital selfies.

I think I may have been in a photo-booth once  in ages past for a ID photo and knew legendary champion of vernacular signs and habits Walker Evans, took his own portrait in one in 1930 but I had not really paid much attention. The exhibition was a quiet revelation of just how fundamental this enchantment with self imaging is — its up there with cave painting as a marker of presence. I particularly loved the artists in the show who had long engaged with photo-booth experience and creation.

The exhibition was very comprehensive and a lot of work and searching and  intelligence by the curators.

This exhibition was curated by Catlin Langford with Christopher Sutherland and Jessie Norman (Metro Auto Photo). for more on the exhibition   click here